Sephiroth fingered the small red ribbon that he had found on his walk the other day. The ribbon was so small and looked so delicate in his hand, the very hand that wielded Masamune to slaughter so many people and monsters. He stood in the fragment of the world that was the Lifestream, watching the green energy that spiralled upwards and into the darkness above. If he brought the ribbon close enough to his face, he would smell the familiar scent of apples. It wasn't the scent that had triggered the memories within his mind, it was the battle against the gunman from his world.

Sephiroth deftly dodged the bullets as the blur of red that was his opponent put distance between them. He managed to conceal himself in a hiding spot behind the gunman and approached him quietly. It was when he leapt and pierced Masamune into the gunman's shoulder, he remembered. He killed a young woman in a pink dress by thrusting this very blade into her body. He remembered the shriek of agony and despair and turned his head to see…her. Anne was in the same room, her face full of shock and horror which somehow hurt Sephiroth's chest. Sephiroth shook away the memory quickly and stumbled away as the gunman tore himself away then retreated. But as he saw the blood that dripped down his blade, another memory hit him quickly.

This time, they were in an office. His office. Sephiroth was…he was tying a small bandage around a tiny index finger. Anne's finger. Sephiroth never noticed how small Anne's hands were. Anne gave him a warm smile and hunched her shoulder shyly.

"Thank you," she uttered.

"Be careful next time," he replied.

"Sephiroth, relax. It was only a paper cut."

"Paper cuts can be lethal."

Sephiroth heard Anne's laugh and he was shocked to think he had forgotten that delicate laugh.

"Sephiroth, I've suffered worse injuries whilst blacksmithing."

"Now you're not blacksmithing for Nibelheim anymore, I refuse for you to get injured anymore."

Anne looked up at him with those curious red eyes of hers.

"I've heard stories about the great Sephiroth," she said "I can't believe you're him."

Sephiroth clenched the ribbon tightly.

"That's because I don't want you to know the real me," he said to the emptiness as if talking to that Anne.

It was a wonder why with all the clanging and banging Anne had to do whilst preparing armour and weapons, she wasn't deaf. Her hearing was just as sharp as a rabbit's so when she heard the sound of boots turning the corner to her little spot she snarled, mistaking them to be the Emperor's. She had enough of him coming round and demanding something to be enhanced every single fricking day.

"I don't want to tend to your whims today, Emperor," she snarled without turning her back "And no, I won't give you permission to do your own fricking armour, even if you seem pretty incapable of blacksmithing!"

"Actually, I'd rather ask for forgiveness rather than permission if I was the Emperor," a cool voice that was certainly not the Emperor's answered her.

Her cheeks burning, Anne turned on her heel and looked up at Noctis who kept a stoic face. She bit her lip and hunched her shoulders.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Don't you get claustrophobic here?" Noctis asked as he looked around the little armoury.

"No but it is boring to see the same three walls every day and see the same people," Anne muttered.

Noctis rolled his shoulder once then extended his hand out. Anne jumped back and eyed it warily.

"I'll take you out for a little walk," he proposed "I'm sure no-one will mind too much."

"But…Chaos…"

"It doesn't matter, he won't kill you just for taking a fifteen minute break."

Anne looked around the armoury and looked at Noctis.

"I can really leave?"

Noctis nodded and Anne took his hand, letting him lead her outside.

Noctis watched as Anne dipped her feet into the river and sighed softly. She hummed and began splashing softly, enjoying watching the ripples travel across the river. She looked around and grimaced at the bleak atmosphere of the Chaos territory. Noctis agreed with her mood, it wasn't the nicest of environments but there was still cool refreshing water and clean fresh air to indulge in. Anne sighed again and leaned back on the bank.

"Thank you for taking me out here," she smiled warmly and Noctis just shrugged.

"You looked pretty bad, I'd rather have a sane person handling my armour and weapon."

He stroked the handle of his blade thoughtfully and for a brief moment, their red eyes met. Anne smiled again and Noctis remained expressionless. They didn't say anything much but Anne did something that caught Noctis off guard. She grabbed her top, pulled it over her hand and threw it at Noctis. Noctis stumbled as the red fabric covered his face and some leather black shorts landed on his feet. There was a splash and Noctis dared lift the shirt up and saw Anne swimming around the river naked.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Taking a bath, what do you think?" Anne smiled and tilted her head to the side "Do you want to join."

"…No."

Noctis avoided to stare as Anne kept on diving then surfacing, washing the dirt off her body. And it wasn't long until Sephiroth spotted them on his way back from the Cosmos territory, his eyes holding a possessive glint.

"Caelum," he said coolly and snatched Anne's clothes up "I'll take those and you may leave."

Not wanting to cause a fuss, Noctis left. Sephiroth turned to Anne who walked up onto the bank, apparently not that bothered about her nudity.

"Sephiroth, did Noctis have to leave?" she tilted her head curiously.

Sephiroth avoided staring at Anne as he took his coat off and used it to cover her.

"Yes, he needed to leave," he replied "But I'm here now. Why don't you tell me about your day?"

When Anne's face lit up, Sephiroth couldn't help but smile down at her. She was his Anne after all.